The European Union is making a regrettable mistake by following NATO's strategy of pushing eastwards and giving the post-communist countries a choice between "West or Russia", Moscow's diplomacy chief Sergei Lavrov told EURACTIV's media partner Beta on Monday (19 February).

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has come in for plenty of criticism in his 19 months in post. But there is one area of foreign policy where he has been faultless and where indeed Britain can play a leading role in shaping Europe’s future direction of travel, explains Denis MacShane.

In just one day, Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, has embroiled himself in a spat with the country's president, been offered Russian citizenship and seen some of his pet projects crumble before his eyes.

European Union foreign ministers disagreed on Thursday (15 February) over a proposal by the bloc's executive to push for expansion into the Western Balkans, a region still scarred by ethnic wars fought in the 1990s and dogged by a reputation for lawlessness.

A school built with EU money now stands at the site where thousands of tonnes of concrete were produced to fulfill the fever dreams of Albania's bunker-obsessed Communist dictator, Enver Hoxha. EURACTIV’s partner efe-epa reports from Tirana.

This week's talks between Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and her visiting Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vučić, produced few spectacular results. But analysts say that coming face to face was a good start, particularly for the EU hopeful Serbia.

Serbia will need to accept the independence of Kosovo, its former province, in order to join the European Union, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel reiterated in Pristina late yesterday (14 February).

All six countries in the Western Balkans have a European perspective, and Serbia as one of the leaders in the process could help the entire region's progress towards membership, Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in Belgrade on Wednesday (7 February).